Hemorrhage is the leading cause of death from battlefield trauma and the second leading cause of death after trauma in the civilian community. Non-compressible hemorrhage (hemorrhage not readily accessible to direct pressure, such as intracavity bleeding) contributes to the majority of early trauma deaths. Apart from proposals to apply a liquid hemostatic foam and recombinant factor VIIa to the non-compressible bleeding sites, very little has been done to address this problem. There is a critical need to provide more effective treatment options to the combat medic for controlling severe internal hemorrhage such as intracavity bleeding.
Control of intracavity bleeding is complicated by many factors, chief among which are: lack of accessibility by conventional methods of hemostatic control such as application of pressure and topical dressings; difficulty in assessing the extent and location of injury; bowel perforation, and interferences caused by blood flow and pooling of bodily fluids.